W. James Tetlow, a Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts graduate of ’77, recently received the school’s Alumni Achievement award. Tetlow, a famed lighting designer for television, theater and special events, earned the recognition for his expertise and leadership in the field, as well as many achievements in lighting design.
According to Live Design, Tetlow has won an Emmy for his work on the children’s series Sesame Street and worked on productions in Hong Kong, Macau, Washington D.C., and much more. Tetlow also designed lighting for all of the Presidential debates since 2000, and for both Democratic and Republic Conventions. His work is also featured in the television lighting for the Senate chamber, two Senate Hearing Rooms of the US Capitol and multiple Hearing Rooms for the House of Representatives.
Tetlow has stated that he got interested in lighting early, during high school theater when he got involved in backstage crew during productions.
“Lighting fascinated me, because you couldn’t touch it, feel it, smell it, or taste it. You can’t even see light until it hits something,” Tetlow said in an interview with Lighting & Sound in 2012. “Lighting became my primary interest, and I also discovered I had an affinity for it, but it was impossible to pursue just lighting at that point.”
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